Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,41

minutes before everything flickered off. The table, lacking the necessary power and instructions to retract, remained in the center of the room.

He tapped a claw on his thigh as he regarded it. He considered attempting to retract it, but the sounds of the crew were getting closer. Moving away, he approached the panels and set his hand on them one by one. Not many opened. Some flashed a request for an access code. Those that did open had what seemed to be basic medical supplies.

It was not impressive, but perhaps to be expected. When it came to basic emergency supplies, little changed over time. Even Argurma warriors depended on bandages in the field before they could be treated by a medic.

The last cabinet slid shut, and he yanked his hand down just as the thudding of boots approached. Turning away from the wall, Veral faced the male who walked in, a look of interest on his face.

“Fascinating,” Egbor murmured, his eyes coming to rest on the med-bed. “Have you discovered anything?”

Veral lifted his shoulders, mimicking his mate’s shrug. “As you can see, that looks like a med-bed. It would appear that this was the ship’s medical bay.”

“Pretty sparse for medical,” the captain observed.

“The med-bed appears standard, and the screen there would have received data,” Veral replied, pointing to the data unit’s screen. “There is a high probability that whatever had been in this room and this part of the ship fell out when it ripped away from the frame of the Evandra.” There was a degree of truth to that statement.

The captain nodded. “So it would seem,” he muttered to himself as he began to walk away. At the entrance, he paused and glanced over at Veral. “You would not attempt to deceive me, would you, Argurma?”

Veral only blinked at him. “To what purpose would that serve? My only interest is to keep my mate safe.”

“And what of your duty to your employer?”

“There is no duty greater than her,” Veral growled impatiently.

That was the complete truth. Whatever the prince had planned to pay him for the salvage was meaningless in the face of Terri’s safety. He would abandon it without regret. The likelihood of anyone else being able to salvage it was small since few species had the ability to detect lifeforms to a degree that they would be able to avoid them. Though he jested with his cousin about taking a scenic route, he had made certain that nothing dangerous would get anywhere near his female. Other salvagers would need incredible luck to survive against the dangers of this forest.

Egbor nodded. “Some would say that is dishonorable, to set aside your contracts so easily, but I can respect it. The funny thing about you Argurma, with all your hard, cold logic, is that you are so incredibly stupid when it comes to your mates. You are willing to sacrifice everything.”

Veral’s eyes narrowed, but he refused to speak. What a pirate would never understand is that there was nothing without his mate. Despite all the rumors about his species, he was grateful that outsiders knew so little about the particulars of their society, especially their mate bonds.

Not knowing that he would follow her in death kept the male operating within the letter of the agreement out of fear of retaliation.

His eyes followed the pirate captain as the male left the room. When he was out of sight, Veral gave one last cursory glance around the space, his eyes falling on the outline of a door. That had to lead to a small, private room. Making note of it, Veral grunted and spun around as he followed the captain back out to the main area of the wreckage where the crew was congregated.

“Alien tech reacts to our systems,” he fired off to Kaylar as his gaze studied the pirates shoving by each other as they fought for rations.

“Is it controllable?”

“Debatable. Links drops out if not touched directly. A direct pathway link could be established, I believe, with time.”

“And the tech?”

“As of yet, no prognosis can be made as to what might be useful against the pirate until we arrive at the main wreckage.”

“Very well. Keep me informed,” Kaylar grumbled as he signed off.

Veral lingered at the far end of the crowd, his eyes following Terri as she settled in a vacant spot closest to the wall. The youngling sat by her side, his lips pressed together in a grimace of pain as she wrapped a clean leaf tightly around his hand.